Pretoria - Department of Trade and Industry (dti) Minister Rob Davies has committed to implement the judgement handed down by the Pretoria High Court regarding the rewarding of the licence to Ithuba Holdings to operate the national lottery.
“Minister Davies has committed himself to fully implement the judgement handed down in the High Court in Pretoria today in the review application which was launched by Gidani (Pty) Ltd in November 2014.
“The review aimed at setting aside the Minister’s decision to appoint Ithuba (Pty) Ltd as the Preferred Applicant and to award the third national lottery licence to Ithuba,” said dti spokesperson Sidwell Medupe.
This as the court declared the decision to award the lottery license to Ithuba as invalid.
High Court Judge Neil Tuchten granted an order to Gidani declaring the Minister’s decision to award the third lottery license to Ithuba unconstitutional and invalid.
The dti on Wednesday said that following a rigorous evaluation and adjudication process, which commenced with the issuing of the Request For Proposal in July 2013, Minister Davies appointed the current operator, Ithuba, as the preferred applicant with which to negotiate the terms of the licence agreement to operate the third national lottery.
Negotiations then ensued with Ithuba, the Minister and the National Lotteries Commission. The Licence Agreement was concluded on 24 November 2014.
Ithuba has since commenced operating the national lottery on 1 June 2015, when the previous operator Gidani’s licence expired. The review application was heard during the course of May and June 2015.
“Minister Davies welcomed Judge Tuchten’s decision to uphold his decision to appoint Ithuba as the preferred applicant, on the basis that the Minister’s decision is both rational and reasonable.
“The Judge however set aside the licence as certain terms relating to the guarantee and performance bond was found to be invalid. However, the Judge suspended the operation of this decision for a month,” explained Medupe.
Minister Davies is confident that he will resolve the issues raised by the court within a one month period. The Minister further assured the public that there will be no disruptions to the operation of the national lottery. – SAnews.gov.za
